In recent years, advances in technology, as well as ever-evolving tastes in style, have led to substantial changes in the design of automobiles. One of the changes involves the complexity of the electrical systems within automobiles, particularly alternative fuel (or propulsion) vehicles that utilize voltage supplies, such as hybrid and battery electric vehicles. Such alternative fuel vehicles typically use one or more electric motors, often powered by batteries, perhaps in combination with another actuator, to drive the wheels.
Such vehicles often use two separate voltage sources, such as a battery and a fuel cell, to power the electric motors that drive the wheels. Power electronics (or power electronics systems), such as direct current-to-direct current (DC/DC) converters, are typically used to manage and transfer the power from the two voltage sources. Also, due to the fact that alternative fuel automobiles typically include only direct current (DC) power supplies, direct current-to-alternating current (DC/AC) inverters (or power inverters) are also provided to convert the DC power to alternating current (AC) power, which is generally required by the motors.
Modern power converters typical utilize power modules that include electronic components, such as switches and diodes formed on semiconductor substrates. The electrical connections used to control the switches and diodes are often made using wire bonds of discrete wires. Such electrical connections often provide undesirable signal quality, are relatively fragile, and increase manufacturing time and costs.
Additionally, as the power demands on the electrical systems in alternative fuel vehicles continue to increase, there is an ever increasing need to maximize the electrical efficiency of such systems. There is also a constant desire to reduce the size of the components within the electrical systems in order to minimize the overall cost and weight of the vehicles.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a power electronics power module with improved electrical connections for the electronic components. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.